How can I use bitter or hard water for cooking and specially in soaking beans?
How can I use hard water (with a bitter taste) for cooking and especially to soak dry beans.
Normally beans do not soak well in hard (bitter) water. In that case, what should I do?
Best Answer
In most countries, hard water is caused by Calcium and Magnesium Carbonates.
These can be easily removed by using an ion-exchange apparatus (best results) or can be converted by adding an acid to the water. In the case of vinegar:
2 CH3COOH + CaCo3 ? Ca(CH3COO)2 + CO2 + H2O
So the Calcium is not gone: it's just converted to Calcium Acetate but that is much more soluble in water than carbonate, so it'll seem softer.
The same is true for MgCO3.
How much vinegar and how long does this take?
Overnight should do the trick unless you live on one of the poles. ;-)
How much??? I cannot tell you over the Internet so experiment:
- Start with 20 drops per Litre
- Use less if that's satisfactory until it becomes unsatisfactory.
- then go back up one drop and that amount will be the best volume for your water...
Pictures about "How can I use bitter or hard water for cooking and specially in soaking beans?"
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Craig Adderley, Craig Adderley, Dazzle Jam, Max Vakhtbovych